Big Tech in a Little Package – Sifteo’s Hands-on Game Cubes

Marla Shaivitz March 12, 2011 Tweet

People have gathered together to play games like chess, checkers, jacks and mahjong, for pretty much forever. Classic games like these, based around real physical objects are the inspiration for Sifteo, a San Francisco-based company that has meshed this type of tactile, classic game fun along with full-color, motion-sensing technology.

It’s big tech in a little package. Sifteo has created 1.5 inch ‘cubes’ with full-color displays that sense their motion, sense each other, and wirelessly connect to a computer. The company supports the cubes with a growing array of interactive games in their own app store that promises to get your brain and body engaged.

Sifteo was founded by David Merrill and Jeevan Kalanithi who created the precursor to the product, “Siftables”, as graduate students at the MIT Media Lab. The pair founded Sifteo in late 2009 to bring their ideas out into the world.

David  is now President of Sifteo, Inc. He is an expert in cutting-edge human-computer interaction, producing multiple award-winning interfaces and technologies that reinvent how people use computers. David and his work have been featured at TED, the Discovery Channel and Wired. David holds a BS in Symbolic Systems and an MS in Computer Science from Stanford, and an MS and PhD from MIT.

Jeevan an entrepreneur and technologist specializing in user interfaces and consumer hardware products is Sifteo’s CEO. Prior to Sifteo, Jeevan co-founded and ran a design and technology consulting business with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to non-profits. Jeevan holds a BS in Symbolic Systems from Stanford and an MS from MIT.

Sifteo’s initial collection of titles includes challenging games for adults, fun math and word puzzles for kids, and games people can play together. Sifteo is courting parents and educators, early testers and well as developers to help them formulate the ‘future of play’.

If you’ll be at SXSW come by to say hi to the Sifteo team (and see if you can get your hands on those cubes!) at our SXSW Accelerator Kickoff on Sunday.